China Business Briefs 30/11/13

Economy

China launches app for train tickets, and it already sucks

**I’ll take “Things that do not surprise me” for $100**

QQ Tech reports the iOS version is unavailable as of press time (the link returns a blank page), and the current Android beta version is slow and sometimes crashes. When I tried to download the Android app using the QR code pictured, I am redirected to a non-mobile version of the booking page. There is no option to download the app. It seems the Railway Ministry has another dud on their hands.
 

Yunnan and Guangxi Launch Financial Reform Pilot Zone Targeting ASEAN and South Asia | China Briefing News

Nov. 29 – In a move to strengthen ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Asian countries, China’s central bank and 10 other departments jointly released the “Overall Plan for Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Constructing the Close-Border Financial Reform Pilot Zone (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Plan’)” on November 20. The Plan approves the establishment of a new financial pilot zone in Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which will serve as a testing ground for the nationwide financial reforms.

Chinese premier urges SCO to promote trade, finance cooperation – BUSINESS – Globaltimes.cn

The SCO is a six-member inter-governmental organization founded in the Chinese city of Shanghai on June 15, 2001.

Grouping China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the SCO covers a total area of 30.2 million square km, with a combined population of 1.53 billion.

China rejects imported US transgenic corn – BUSINESS – Globaltimes.cn

China’s quality watchdog said on Friday that China has recently rejected 60,000 tonnes of corn imports from the United States which contains unapproved transgenic content.

Local authorities in the southern port city of Shenzhen found MIR162, a type of insect-resistant transgenic corn, among a batch of over 60,000 tonnes of corn imported from the United States, said Chen Xitong, spokesman for the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ).

Industrial sector’s profits increase in October – China Daily Business

**But the rise in profits is down**

Industrial companies saw their profits rise 15.1 percent year-on-year in October, slowing from the 18.4 percent growth seen in September, official data showed on Thursday.

The total profits of industrial companies with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan ($3.3 million) reached 581.04 billion yuan in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

China Policy Institute Blog » The US and China Compete for Immigrants

Are the US and China vying for the same international demographic? According to New York University’s Melissa Lefkowitz, the Chinese government is in the process of drafting new migratory regulations which would allow applicants in the technology industry to settle in China permanently: “[a]n expert privy to the [Ministry of Public Security’s] recent activities […] has said that the draft regulation will target immigrants in the technology field who have lived in China for ten consecutive years.”

 

Rich collectors from China switch spending power to western art – FT.com

**Must be big market in fakes….**

Wealthy Chinese collectors are increasingly buying up western art as their tastes move beyond the traditional confines of Chinese ceramics and paintings.

Auction houses said more of the spending power generated by China’s booming economy was being targeted at non-Chinese art, such as Impressionist paintings, Old Masters and 19th century European furniture.

Companies

China’s Cnooc Seeks to Export LNG from Canada’s Pacific Coast – WSJ.com

The Canadian unit of Chinese state-owned energy company Cnooc Ltd. applied with federal regulators on Friday for permission to export liquefied natural gas from Canada’s Pacific coast.

The application with the National Energy Board for a 25-year permit comes just two weeks after the Cnooc unit and its partners won rights from the provincial government of British Columbia to build an LNG terminal close to its border with Alaska. Known as Aurora LNG, the project is one of nearly a dozen in the early stages of planning for exporting natural gas from British Columbia.

GM Replacing China President as Socia Retires After One Year – Bloomberg

Matthew Tsien, 53, a GM vice president, will take over from Bob Socia, 59, when he retires on Jan. 1, the Detroit-based company said in a statement today. Unlike Socia, Tsien will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson instead of China Chairman Tim Lee.

Tsien is currently a vice president at GM China, overseeing product planning and his past roles included leading the Chinese joint venture SAIC-GM-Wuling as executive vice president from 2009 to 2012, according to the statement. He has helped negotiate the early partnerships with SAIC Motor Corp. (600104), including passenger-vehicle venture Shanghai GM and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center, the company said.

 

Glaxo’s Witty to accompany PM on China visit – Telegraph

A group of leading chief executives led by GlaxoSmithKline’s Sir Andrew Witty are to accompany the Prime Minister on his trip to China from Monday.

Sir Andrew will accompany David Cameron to form part of a delegation of more than 100 business people, academics and support staff to promote the UK to politicians and business leaders in the country.

His place on the trip is of note given GSK’s problems in the country, where it has been hit by a bribery scandal involving local company executives which led the company’s Chinese sales to slide 61pc in the three months to the end of September.

 

Posted from Diigo.

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